Abstract: In some embodiments, a system includes a first router and a second router both configured to be included within an OTN. The first router is configured to send to the second router a first signal having an ODU with a path delay measurement (DMp) bit set. The first router is configured to, in response to not receiving within a path-length-dependent time period from the second router a second signal having the DMp bit set, (1) trigger a protection action at the first router, and (2) send to the second router a signal configured to notify the second router to trigger the protection action at the second router. The second router is configured to, in response to receiving the signal configured to notify, trigger the protection action at the second router.

Abstract: Techniques are described for a method for detecting a fault. The method includes receiving, by a receiving electronic device, via a differential pair transmission line, from a transmitting electronic device, an electrical signal. The method further includes converting, by a receiving (Rx) serializer/deserializer (SerDes) operating at the receiving electronic device, the received electrical signal into a received digital electrical signal. The method further includes, determining, by one or more processors, an electrical signature of the received electrical signal from the received digital electrical signal when the received electrical signal is received by the receiving electronic device. The method further includes determining, by the one or more processors, based on the electrical signature, a position of a fault between the receiving electronic device and the transmitting electronic device. The fault causes the received electrical signal to be different than the transmitted electrical signal.

Abstract: In some embodiments, a system includes a super-channel multiplexer (SCM) and an optical cross connect (OXC) switch. The SCM is configured to multiplex a set of optical signals into a super-channel optical signal with a wavelength band. The OXC switch is configured to be operatively coupled to the SCM and a reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM) degree. The OXC switch is configured to be located between the SCM and the ROADM degree and the OXC switch, the SCM, and the ROADM degree are configured to be included in a colorless, directionless, and contentionless (CDC) optical network. The OXC switch is configured to switch, based on the wavelength band, the super-channel optical signal to an output port from a set of output ports of the OXC switch. The OXC switch is configured to transmit the super-channel optical signal from the output port to the ROADM degree.

Abstract: In some embodiments, an apparatus includes a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) optical modulator which includes a first phase modulator (PM), a second PM, a tunable optical coupler (TOC), and an optical combiner (OC). The TOC is configured to split a light wave at an adjustable power splitting ratio to produce a first split light wave and a second split light wave. The first PM is configured to modulate the first split light wave in response to a first multi-level electrical signal to produce a first modulated light wave. The second PM is configured to modulate the second split light wave in response to a second multi-level electrical signal to produce a second modulated light wave. The OC is then configured to combine the first modulated light wave and the second modulated light wave to generate a QAM optical signal.

Abstract: The disclosed computer-implemented method may include (1) receiving, at a network node within a network, a packet from another network node within the network, (2) identifying, within the packet, a label stack that includes a plurality of labels that collectively represent at least a portion of an LSP within the network, (3) popping, from the label stack, a label that corresponds to a specific link to a further network node, and then upon popping the label from the label stack, (4) forwarding the packet to the further network node by way of the specific link. Various other methods, systems, and apparatuses are also disclosed.

Abstract: The disclosed method may include (1) receiving a synchronize message from a computing device to initiate synchronization between the computing device and a server with respect to a communication protocol, (2) notifying an application in user space on the server of the synchronize message such that the application in user space selects at least one attribute to be applied to a communication session resulting from the synchronization between the computing device and the server, (3) sending a synchronize acknowledgment that identifies the attribute selected by the application in user space to the computing device to further the synchronization between the computing device and the server, and then (4) establishing the communication session with the attribute selected by the application in user space upon receiving an acknowledgment message from the computing device to complete the synchronization. Various other methods, systems, and apparatuses are also disclosed.

Abstract: In one example, a method comprises receiving, by a forwarding manager for an internal forwarding path executed by at least one packet processor of a forwarding unit of a network device, one or more packet processing operations from a control unit of the network device; generating, by the forwarding manager based on the one or more packet processing operations, a plurality of nodes each comprising a unique token, wherein a first node of the plurality of nodes includes a token reference set to a value for the token of a second node of the plurality of nodes; configuring, by the forwarding manager based on the nodes, the forwarding path to include respective forwarding path elements for the plurality of nodes; and processing, by the packet processor, a packet received by the forwarding unit by executing the forwarding path elements.

Abstract: In one example, a method includes receiving, by a network device, first data defining a group of LSPs, receiving second data defining one or more constraints for one or more bypass LSPs, and receiving third data defining a mapping between the group of LSPs and the one or more bypass LSPs. The method also includes, in response to receiving the third data, automatically signaling, by the network device, a bypass LSP in accordance with the one or more constraints, selecting, by the network device and based on the mapping, a respective alternate next hop for rerouting network traffic received on each LSP of the group of LSPs to the signaled bypass LSP, and programming a forwarding component of the network device to install each of the respective alternate next hops as alternate next hops to primary next hops for the LSPs of the group of LSPs.

Abstract: The disclosed apparatus may include (1) a plurality of SerDes devices that each facilitate transmitting and receiving communications in connection with a network device and (2) at least one phase-adjustment device communicatively coupled to a first SerDes device included in the SerDes devices, wherein the phase-adjustment device mitigates crosstalk among the SerDes devices by (A) receiving at least one reference clock signal, (B) generating at least one phase-adjusted clock signal based at least in part on the reference clock signal such that the phase-adjusted clock signal and the reference clock signal are out of phase with respect to one another, and (C) delivering the phase-adjusted clock signal to the first SerDes device to ensure that the SerDes devices are switching out of phase with respect to one another. Various other apparatuses, systems and methods are also disclosed.

Abstract: The disclosed apparatus may include (1) a ganged heatsink base that (A) absorbs heat dissipated by a plurality of electronic components that consume differing amounts of power and (B) includes a plurality of thermal regions dedicated to absorbing the heat dissipated by the plurality of electronic components and (2) at least one thermal isolation engine that (A) is incorporated into the ganged heatsink base, (B) separates the plurality of thermal regions from one another, and (C) localizes the heat dissipated by the plurality of electronic components by maintaining at least some of the heat dissipated by one of the electronic components within the thermal region that absorbed the at least some of the heat such that the at least some of the heat does not migrate to another thermal region included in the ganged heatsink base. Various other apparatuses, systems, and methods are also disclosed.

Abstract: The disclosed computer-implemented method may include (1) identifying, in kernel space on a network device, a packet that is destined for a remote device, (2) passing, along with the packet, metadata for the packet to a packet buffer in kernel space on the network device, (3) framing, by the kernel module in kernel space, the packet such that the packet egresses via a tunnel interface driver on the network device, (4) encapsulating, by the tunnel interface driver, the packet with the metadata, and then (5) forwarding, by the tunnel interface driver, the packet to the remote device based at least in part on the metadata with which the packet was encapsulated. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

Abstract: In some embodiments, an apparatus includes a reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM). The ROADM has a wavelength selective switch (WSS) that does not perform power equalization when the WSS is operative. The ROADM also has a first pre-amplifier, a first channel power equalizer operatively coupled to the first pre-amplifier, a second pre-amplifier operatively coupled to the first channel power equalizer and the WSS, a first post-amplifier operatively coupled to the WSS, a second channel power equalizer operatively coupled to the first post-amplifier, and a second post-amplifier operative coupled to the second channel power equalizer.

Abstract: Techniques are described for reusing downstream-assigned labels when establishing a new label switched path (LSP) between an ingress router and an egress router prior to tearing down an existing LSP using make-before-break (MBB) procedures for the Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP). In one example, a router receives, a first message requesting establishment of an LSP including a tunnel identifier pair. The router compares the tunnel identifier pair for the requested LSP to existing LSP information stored at the router. Based on a determination that the tunnel identifier pair for the requested LSP is the same as a tunnel identifier pair for an existing LSP, the router assigns a label used by the router to identify incoming traffic associated with the requested LSP that is the same as a previously allocated label for the existing LSP without updating labels in a forwarding table of a forwarding plane of the router.

Abstract: In some embodiments, a system includes a super-channel multiplexer (SCM) and an optical cross connect (OXC) switch. The SCM is configured to multiplex a set of optical signals into a super-channel optical signal with a wavelength band. The OXC switch is configured to be operatively coupled to the SCM and a reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM) degree. The OXC switch is configured to be located between the SCM and the ROADM degree and the OXC switch, the SCM, and the ROADM degree are configured to be included in a colorless, directionless, and contentionless (CDC) optical network. The OXC switch is configured to switch, based on the wavelength band, the super-channel optical signal to an output port from a set of output ports of the OXC switch. The OXC switch is configured to transmit the super-channel optical signal from the output port to the ROADM degree.

Abstract: In one example, a network management system (NMS) is configured to enable a target network device to support one more network services by generating a translation template to map a vendor neutral model to a device specific model. The NMS determines similarity scores between nodes in the vendor neutral model and nodes in the device specific model. Based on the similarity scores, the NMS generates a translation template from the vendor neutral model to the device specific model. Using the translation template, the NMS may configure the target network device to support the one or more network services.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention describe apparatuses, optical systems, and methods for utilizing a dynamically reconfigurable optical transmitter. A laser array outputs a plurality of laser signals (which may further be modulated based on electrical signals), each of the plurality of laser signals having a wavelength, wherein the wavelength of each of the plurality of laser signals is tunable based on other electrical signals. An optical router receives the plurality of (modulated) laser signals at input ports and outputs the plurality of received (modulated) laser signals to one or more output ports based on the tuned wavelength of each of the plurality of received laser signals. This reconfigurable transmitter enables dynamic bandwidth allocation for multiple destinations via the tuning of the laser wavelengths.

Abstract: The disclosed apparatus may include (1) a housing unit that houses an optical transducer within a telecommunications device, (2) a heatsink that is coupled to a movable shaft secured to a joint within the telecommunications device, and (3) a coil spring that (A) is coupled to the movable shaft secured to the joint within the telecommunications device and, when released, (B) applies a force that presses the heatsink against the optical transducer to ensure that the heatsink is thermally coupled to the optical transducer. Various other apparatuses, systems, and methods are also disclosed.

Abstract: The disclosed apparatus may include a fluid-cooled plate that may be thermally coupled to a first electronic component for cooling the first electronic component by way of a cooling fluid, and a gas-cooled plate physically coupled to the fluid-cooled plate. The gas-cooled plate may be thermally coupled to a second electronic component for cooling the second electronic component by way of a gas. The gas-cooled plate may be separated from the fluid-cooled plate by a gap. Various other apparatuses, systems, and methods are also disclosed.

Abstract: Techniques are described for reusing downstream-assigned labels when establishing a new instance of a label switched path (LSP) prior to tearing down an existing instance of the LSP using make-before-break (MBB) procedures for RSVP. The techniques enable a routing engine of any non-ingress router along a path of the new LSP instance to reuse a previously allocated label for the existing LSP instance as the downstream assigned label for the new LSP instance when the paths of the existing LSP instance and the new LSP instance overlap. In this way, the non-ingress router does not need to update a label route in its forwarding plane for the reused label. When the new LSP instance completely overlaps the existing LSP instance, an ingress router of the LSP may avoid updating an ingress route in its forwarding plane for applications that use the LSP.

Abstract: The disclosed apparatus may include (1) a Field-Replaceable Unit (FRU) that (A) is designed to mate with a backplane of a telecommunications system and (B) facilitates communication among computing devices within a network and (2) at least one helical ejector that (A) is coupled to the FRU, (B) fastens to a housing of the telecommunications system to enable the FRU to mate with the backplane of the telecommunications system, and (C) includes at least one spring that, when the helical ejector is fastened to the housing of the telecommunications system, applies a force on the FRU that pushes the FRU toward the backplane of the telecommunications system. Various other apparatuses, systems, and methods are also disclosed.